HERCULES -- A deal to sell the city-owned Victoria Crescent tract to a developer is still alive, after the City Council this week extended a crucial deadline to March 31, and the redevelopment successor agency's oversight board signed off on the action.

San Francisco-based City Ventures LLC was supposed to complete by Friday a feasibility study to determine whether it should proceed with the purchase of the vacant, 6.37-acre property along San Pablo Avenue, north of Highway 4, for about $2.1 million. The developer wants to build a residential project of 36 to 44 units with solar panels and other "green" features.

A draft resolution before the council last week to extend the deadline appeared to die when no one seconded Councilman Dan Romero's motion to adopt. But it became the subject of Tuesday's special meeting at the initiative of Mayor John Delgado and the urging of Councilman Bill Kelly, after the two said the resolution would have come to a vote last week if not for some confusion for which both took responsibility.

Kelly said he had intended to vote for the extension last week, but his enthusiasm dampened during the council discussion of the delay. When it came to Romero's motion, and Delgado did not second it, Kelly, believing the mayor might have some adverse information, did not second the motion either, he said. Delgado said he didn't second it because he thought the usual mayoral practice to leave it to other council members to second a motion was a rule rather than just a custom.

Advertisement

Councilwomen Myrna de Vera and Sherry McCoy said last week's demise of the motion should stand. De Vera said renewing the motion created an appearance of impropriety. McCoy said it was awkward and set "an unwise precedent."

They also noted that City Ventures' senior vice president, Phil Kerr, emailed Kelly and Delgado after last week's council discussion. Kelly and Delgado said they reported the emails to City Manager Steve Duran and did not reply to Kerr.

De Vera told Kerr: "I think it's very disrespectful to come back, even if it was a parliamentary mistake."

Earlier, McCoy questioned whether Kerr ever intended to meet the Jan. 18 deadline. She also expressed skepticism over administrative officials' claims over the past year that a sale of the property was a matter of urgency.

Victoria Crescent, along with another property, are attached under a 2011 court settlement with the city's bond insurer, Ambac Assurance Corp.

Opponents have criticized housing plans for Victoria Crescent, saying the tract should be developed for retail. Building houses there would require environmental and design review as well as rezoning, officials have said.

Romero noted that Tuesday's action involved renewal of a motion, not reconsideration of a vote, because there had been no vote. He thanked Delgado for "thinking out of the box" in calling for the special meeting.

"Let's not start painting a picture to the public that there's something wrong going on at City Hall," Romero said.

The vote to extend City Ventures' deadline was 3-2, with Kelly, Delgado and Romero voting yes, and de Vera and McCoy voting no. The oversight board confirmed the action Wednesday night.